Hydrophobic aggregation of ultrafine kaolinite

Abstract

The hydrophobic aggregation of ultrafine kaolinite in cationic surfactant suspension was investigated by sedimentation test, zeta potential measurement and SEM observation. SEM images reveal that kaolinite particles show the self-aggregation of edge-face in acidic media, the aggregation of edge-face and edge-edge in neutral media, and the dispersion in alkaline media due to electrostatic repulsion. In the presence of the dodecylammonium acetate cationic surfactant and in neutral and alkaline suspension, the hydrophobic aggregation of face-face is demonstrated. The zeta potential of kaolinite increases with increasing the concentration of cationic surfactant. The small and loose aggregation at a low concentration but big and tight aggregation at a high concentration is presented. At pH=7 alkyl quarterly amine salt CTAB has the best hydrophobic aggregation among three cationic surfactants, namely, dodecylammonium acetate, alkyl quarterly amine salts 1227 and CTAB.

Keywords

ultrafine kaolinite / cationic surfactant / SEM observation / hydrophobic aggregation